The Changing of the Guard
When I first started in the post office way back when, I was more afraid of my fellow carriers then I was of management.
What I mean by this, is back then the senior carriers protected their routes to the best of their ability. When I first started and was going to hold down a carrier’s route because he was going on annual leave. I was given specific instructions by the carrier, not management, on how to do the assignment the professional way.
Remember the old-time carriers back then were mostly either WWII or Vietnam veterans. They were tough, strong, intelligent, and watched out for each other, they had each other’s back unlike today’s carriers. They had a lot of pride in the way they did their job. They did not do it for management they did their job with pride and professionalism. They served their customers with pride and went the extra mile for the customers. not management.
These carriers always had a clean uniform on with shined shoes, some even wore ties that is how professional they were, and if one of these old timers was talking to you, you better pay attention and follow their instructions or you heard it from them not management.
One time I was filling in for a senior carrier that was on annual leave and the instructions he gave me for one house I will never forget. The person was blind and lived alone, so when you delivered to his home you would ring the house bell wait for him to come to the door, he would let you in and you would tell him one piece of mail at a time where that piece of mail was from and then place it on the table in this order: bills, advertisements, personal mail, and audio recordings of newspapers and magazines etc. If I did not do that or anything else I was asked to do by a senior regular carrier, I would hear it from that carrier, NOT management, when they came back to work. The reason I am telling you this, is because the old timers are pretty much all gone and now the senior guys that learned from the old timers are not relaying the message to the new guys. It is our responsibility to teach the new carriers that the proper way to deliver mail is the UNION way!
Sometimes the senior carriers do give instructions to the younger carriers, but they do not listen. The younger carriers think running their route is a good thing. They think working off the clock is a good thing. They think working through their break and lunch is a good thing. They would rather case mail then do a vehicle inspection to keep them safe while driving. I can go on and on, but I will not!
With that said it is important for the young carriers to learn from the older or senior carriers on how to protect their job. Remember, job security is essential in today’s world.
So, with the changing of the guard the young carriers should not look at the senior carriers as old dinosaurs and ignore what they have to say. In the scope of life, you will be a senior carrier before you know it. Remember, the things that you could do while you are young you cannot do when you get older. So, listen to what the old timer has to say because it will benefit you when you get older!
I guess the reason I am telling you this is because nowadays no one cares to help out the new letter carriers, the CCAs. Some CCA’s do not listen to the senior carriers. These CCA’s are the future of our organization. As a seasoned letter carrier, you should take the time to help these carriers that will be carrying the torch when you retire. As a new CCA you should want to pay attention and listen to the senior carriers and take their advice on how to do the job in a professional way. These new CCA’s are our blood lines. We must teach them to be as professional as possible because some day they will be the seasoned full-time carrier telling the new CCA’s how to do the job. And we want them to teach the new CCA’s the right way, not management’s way! So, when you see a new CCA in your office, please extend your hand in friendship and show them or explain them the ropes because what they learn in the carrier academy may not be what is going on in their respective office!
